Opening Up 2021 Possibilities with Design Thinking

Why does 85% of innovation fail? Because we make products that people don’t actually want!

If you want to learn about a human centred, design led and market inspired approach to deliver successful innovation for 2021 and beyond, register now for the Marketing Institute of Ireland‘s 2-morning online course ‘Design Thinking’ led by Eadaoin McCarthy. Eadaoin will walk through a simple and practical 5 step design thinking process for solving fresh or undefined problems by prioritising the consumer’s needs.

Taking place through Online Learning via Zoom on 9th & 10th February 2021 from 9.30am-1pm

Our present and future world means that many businesses and brands are being forced to rapidly respond to changing consumer environments, accelerating products /services and flexing operations to take on the demands we are faced with. Innovation and R&D has a key role to play and design thinking is the horsepower to leverage and step confidently into 2021.

What exactly is design thinking ?

The values of Design thinking are rooted in experimentation, collaboration and shared learning to ensure solutions are primarily consumer desired, but also profitable for the business and feasible to deliver.

Design thinking is a simple and practical process for solving fresh or undefined problems by prioritising the consumer’s needs above all else. It relies on observing, with empathy, how people interact with their environments and employs an iterative, hands-on approach to creating innovative solutions.

Why is it critical for marketers now more than ever?

Empower and evolve your expertise to directly respond to consumers’ needs through adopting an innovative and growth mindset .
Becoming a key asked for skillset in ensuring marketing strategy is based on deep and validated consumer understanding.
Broadens awareness of the commercial and operational realities when innovating .
Opens up new ways to access fresh and different perspectives by blending a mix of creativity, common sense and critical thinking
Develops ability to objectively assess integrity of information sources saving time and costs
Elevate your role/teams to champion consumer voice and strengthen trust across the business touchpoints.

Why it will help;

Empower your teams to make products that people actually want and need-
Objectively observe and tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.
Learn to adapt at pace to a changing consumer landscape armed with real insight
Avoid data tyranny and sameness by using tools and tips to get real and fresh consumer knowledge
Challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.

Course overview:

In this 2 morning on line course we will walk through a simple and practical 5 step Design thinking process . You will experience how to

Approach innovation challenges from a human point of view
Access the right consumers, ask the right questions and harness the most valuable information
Identify the right discovery tools to build empathy and better understanding
Think creatively and collaboratively to inspire shared clarity and buy in
Test and validate ideas and prototypes

Eadaoin McCarthy is a leading expert & thought leader on insight effectiveness & design thinking. She is the Founder of InsightDesigned, an insights to innovation consultancy, advising brands & start up’s on new product and brand development . She enjoys creating new pathways to growth via adopting a human centred approach to innovation. This is inspired by combining a unique blend of design and drama methods that unleash empathy, creative and critical thinking.

Eadaoin has over 25 yrs experience holding senior marketing roles in Kerry Taste and Nutrition and across amazing leading Irish and Global food brands such as Kellogg’s, Donegal Catch, Goodfella’s, Bewley’s & Denny. She has collaborated with Educational and Government advisory councils in building foresight in the Food/Agri-Food. An avid insights enthusiast , she has delivered multiple Key Notes promoting the vital role that insight plays in optimising business performance.

She holds a Bachelors Degree in Business & Law from University College Dublin, a Masters in Marketing Science from Michael Smurfit School of Business. She also has a Teaching Diploma in Drama Communications from Griffith College, Dublin. More recently , she completed her Specialisation in Design Thinking from Darden Business School, University of Virginia.
Originally from Limerick she enjoys splitting her work and passions between Dublin and Clare.